


Seishun

by AoiTsukikage



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, More tags to be added, One Shot Collection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-28
Updated: 2018-06-07
Packaged: 2018-08-18 07:50:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8154643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AoiTsukikage/pseuds/AoiTsukikage
Summary: A collection of one-shot fics with different characters and pairings, because I have too many ideas and need a place to keep them all together!Chapter One - Keito/Rei - "We were friends, once.  Can we not speak to each other as such?"Chapter Two - Leo/Izumi - Hogwarts!AUChapter Three - Ritsu/Mao - Agents!AUChapter Four - Leo/Arashi - Christmas EveChapter Five - Shu/Nazuna - NightmaresChapter Six - Kuro/Chiaki - AdviceChapter Seven - Chiaki/Kaoru - Movie Date





	1. Rei/Keito

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _Seishun_ (青春) is a term essentially meaning 'youth' or, in a more direct way, 'the springtime of life.' It's a concept that's brought up a lot in canon enstars in terms of moving away from high school into adult ilife so I thought this would be an appropriate title that could apply to almost any character/pairing.

One of his least favourite things to do is the school sweep.

It's not even his turn, strictly speaking: Eichi should be doing it, but despite the fact that Keito knows Eichi's far more capable than he gives his childhood acquaintance credit for, he still finds himself offering to do things for Eichi more often than not.

He shouldn't, but he sees the soft smile Eichi gives him every time he does and he hates that he's so weak to it.

Well, after over a decade, it's probably not going to change, so he'll just have to live with his own feelings of disappointment every time it happens.

He peers into the last room on his route - the room he always leaves for last, if he's being honest - and his eyes fall on the closed coffin located there.

The days are getting shorter as autumn marches on, the sun starting to set earlier now, and he'd half-hoped it would be low enough by the time he made it here that the sole potential occupant of the room would already be awake and gone.

That's not that case, it seems, and now he has to actually check the coffin since knowingly leaving somebody inside the school after-hours would mean he wasn't doing his job properly.

And he _always_ does his job properly.

There's no guarantee he's even in there, he tells himself.

He could have gone home after practice, or somebody could have woken up him already and gotten him out of there, but even as Keito tries to assure himself of this he knows it's a lie.

He can feel it, somehow, the dark presence that fills part of the room with shadows he knows aren't caused by the sinking sun.

It's foolish to be afraid, since he's fairly sure Rei won't hurt him, but...

But he can't be _completely_  sure, and that makes him hesitate.

"Stop being a coward," he says it out loud, the sound of his voice echoing harshly around the room, and almost as if on cue he sees the coffin lid slide back.

He can leave now. Obviously Rei's awake so he'll leave on his own. There's no reason for him to be here. He can leave.

Or rather, he _would_ leave, if his feet would actually move, but it's as if he's paralyzed and when Rei's blood-coloured eyes fall on him he knows it's too late to run.

"Oh," Rei sounds completely unsurprised, leaning casually over the edge of the coffin. "Hello there, _bozu_."

Keito bristles, because he's never been quite sure if Rei's making fun of his family or just of him when he calls him that, but he doesn't like it.

"I'd appreciate it if you called me by my name, Sakuma," he replies tersely, earning a shrug and a yawn in return.

"Ah, but you're just a pup, Hasumi-kun," Rei lets out a low chuckle. "Especially compared to me."

And there's the vampire thing again, though lately it seems impossible to have so much as a simple conversation with Rei without it being brought up.

"It's almost nightfall. You need to be off the school grounds," Keito says bluntly, turning around and preparing to leave. "I won't be responsible if you get in trouble."

"Wait."

It's spoken in such a soft tone that Keito almost isn't sure he's heard correctly, but he turns regardless. "Yes?"

"We were friends, once," Rei starts, reaching to brush a few long strands of hair behind one ear. "Can we not speak to each other as such?"

"I'm not entirely sure why you'd want to, considering what I did to you," Keito mutters, and _that_  might be the real reason he's avoiding Rei.

He's not afraid of Rei doing anything to him: he's just ashamed of facing his own failure when it comes to how badly he'd let his one-time friend down.

Because of Eichi, of course, and it's _always_ because of Eichi, just like the reason he's here at _all_ today is because of Eichi, but damn him if he keeps making the same mistakes over and over instead of learning from them.

"You did nothing," Rei smiles kindly at him and Keito feels himself getting angry over how much Rei is obviously _not_.

Because he _should_ be angry. He should be _livid._ He should blame Keito for destroying his youth and leaving him a mere shell of the man he'd been only a year ago: someone who could barely make it through the day without needing to rest when before he was racing all over the world at a moment's notice.

But Rei seems to truly _not_ blame him for it, even though he was the one who'd enabled Eichi...who'd thought his idea was good...who was unable to hold him back when things went too far and was helpless to do anything but watch the eventual, inevitable outcome.

"You can't believe that," he says through gritted teeth, trying to hold his own emotions down. "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be..."

"A vampire? Of course I would, I always have been," he scoffs, waving a hand idly. "I've been a lot of different things in my life, so I can adapt."

"You shouldn't have to," Keito replies, his voice cold. "And I didn't do enough to..."

"Because you're weak to Tenshouin-kun," Rei smirks, and Keito honestly hates him in that moment. "He's got you under his spell, as strong as any black magic I've seen. You can't refuse him, and perhaps that _does_ make you weak, but at the same time I still have to admire how loyal you are. I could never have expected you to choose me over him."

"It was never about choosing, Sakuma," Keito sniffs, almost insulted that Rei would look at it that way. "I agreed with Eichi's ultimate goal, but not with how far he went to achieve it. I should have done more to prevent people like you from getting hurt."

"Perhaps your emperor is right," Rei's lips pull back enough to show his fangs. "Perhaps my kindness is a curse, and instead of believing you to be blameless I should be holding an eternal grudge and never wanting to speak to you again. But where would that get me in the end?"

"I'd rather you were angry. At least I could understand that," Keito replies, avoiding Rei's question in favour of getting to what's really bothering him.

"Ah. Do you not think this was planned on my part?" Rei tilts his head to the side, a sly grin on his lips now. "I know you, you realize, so perhaps I figured out that the way to irritate you the most was by not reacting in the way you anticipated me to. Have you thought about it often, Hasumi-kun? Has it plagued you and kept you awake at night, wondering why I'm not angry? What if I'm doing this all on purpose because I know it's what will cause you the most pain and confusion?"

Rei looks directly at him, crimson eyes boring into Keito's own, but he doesn't flinch this time.

"You're not," he says, utterly sure he's right. "You don't have it in you to be that cruel."

"See? We _do_ know each other still," Rei disappears beneath the lip of the coffin and Keito sighs. He should have known Rei would be difficult about even a simple thing like leaving the school on time.

"Come on, Sakuma, I've wasted enough time playing your games..."

He moves closer, letting out a surprised yelp that he'll deny eternally when Rei's hand shoots out of the coffin to clamp around his wrist in a grip much too powerful to belong to any normal human.

Rei's fingers are as cold as the grave and maybe it's the creative side of his mind shining through once more, but he can't help but liken his situation to some sort of horror film where a skeletal hand bursts from the ground to drag its hapless victim down into the depths.

'The depths' in this case happens to be a rather roomy coffin, but Keito figures that the comparison still stands.

"Sakuma, please!" he hisses, trying to sit up when Rei yanks the lid of the coffin closed and he finds himself unable to move it aside.

There's apparently ventilation, judging by the meagre light still seeping inside, but even if he's not in any danger of suffocating the situation is still uncomfortable.

Being near Rei is about as pleasant as lying beside a block of ice would be, given that he's freezing cold and nothing but sharp angles and joints digging into Keito's body since the coffin isn't big enough for two unless they're okay with being really, _really_ close.

And, needless to say, he's _not_  okay with it.

"What's wrong?" Rei's fingers find his face as if he can see perfectly in the darkness, sliding his glasses off. "You trust me, don't you? Old friend?"

"You're being incorrigible," Keito replies, his patience wearing thin. "Give those back."

"You can't see in the dark anyway, so why should I?" Rei sounds so smug that Keito is stating to seriously wonder if the older man _is_ trying to anger him intentionally now. "Relax, _bozu_ ," he murmurs, and Keito finds himself listening despite his increasing annoyance. "We never get to talk anymore."

"Yes, and I've explained why I believe you shouldn't want to have any contact with me," he hisses, batting Rei's hands away when one comes to rest on his shoulder.

"You and Tsukinaga-kun are still friends, yes? So why should I be any different?" he asks, prompting Keito to sigh.

"Tsukinaga challenged Eichi on his own without any involvement from me, so I feel no guilt over that," he replies honestly, thinking that even if Leo _had_ decided to distance himself from Keito simply because of how close Keito is to Eichi, he wouldn't have thought less of him for it.

"I see," Rei hardly sounds convinced, his breath coming out in a soft sigh. "Well, I suppose you can't fault me for trying, but if you're truly that insistent on severing ties with me completely, I'm in no position to stop you."

"No, you aren't," Keito decides that this is as good as any an excuse to leave, but for some reason he's not attempting to get out. Rei's hands are on him again but this time Keito doesn't feel any need to remove them, and he can't begin to rationalize why.

Maybe the closeness of the coffin and the lack of fresh air is muddling his brain, since those ventilation slits can't be letting in _that_ much, right?

"See? It's not so bad," Rei's voice is hypnotic in the way it curls around him, the older man deftly aware of how he can use his slinky tones to captivate unwitting prey.

Keito's neither of those, by the way, but he can appreciate how good Sakuma is at this sort of game.

"We're not children anymore," Rei sounds weary now, the words trailing off into a resigned sigh. "Perhaps we wasted our youth."

"If it's wasted or not, there's no way to change it, so there's no use in dwelling on it," Keito brushes Rei's hands off of him again. "And I have a job to do, so I'd appreciate it if you stopped trying to prevent me from that."

"Of course. Forgive me," Rei doesn't sound sorry at all.

"Give me my glasses back," Keito repeats, although instead of complying Rei's hands comes up to cup his face. "Sakuma, honestly, I'm not in the mood for this."

"I know," Rei leans closer, close enough that Keito can feel his breath washing over his lips in a soft sigh.

They're not children anymore, he thinks idly. Not like the first time they'd done this, awkward and fumbling and unsure.

No, they're men now, lingering on the cusp of adulthood, and this would mean so much more than it did back then.

Back then, it was fuelled by simple curiosity between friends who hadn't experienced it with anybody else. It was innocent, and meant nothing in the end, but they couldn't make those excuses if this happened now and Keito isn't even sure why Rei would _want_ to.

"Sakuma..."

"Tell me not to," Rei whispers, and Keito means to...he _really_ means to...but he's _not_ and by the time Rei's lips are on his it's too late to go back.

There's still something innocent about it, Keito thinks absently. It's perfectly chaste, and they're hardly touching apart from Rei's hands holding his face steady, but it still means something.

It _has_ to mean something.

Keito just doesn't know _what_ , and that annoys him.

"There. Was that so hard?" Rei sounds amused and Keito bristles, wondering if all of this really _is_ just some sort of elaborate joke.

"You can stop toying with me anytime you want. I don't appreciate being taken for a fool," Keito hisses, and this time the kiss is anything but gentle.

He can feel Rei's too-sharp teeth scraping against his lip, tongue shoving into his mouth when Keito tangles his fingers in Rei's long hair and holds his head in place.

Rei's legs twine with his, as if they're already not close enough, and Keito wonders if this is supposed to give him any sort of enlightenment because at the moment he's just more confused than ever.

"You're a stubborn child," Rei sounds out of breath when they finally part.

"I thought we weren't children?" Keito's rather proud of himself that he can still come up with a retort, but it only causes Rei to chuckle softly.

"You'll always be a child compared to me," he hums, fingers idly stroking Keito's cheek in a way that feels far too intimate.

"I don't understand what you're trying to accomplish," Keito finally admits, hating that he needs to stoop to asking but also wanting to be done with this as quickly as he can.

"Nothing," Rei's hands slide down to his shoulders, resting there casually. "I didn't even expect to see you here today, so how could I have been planning anything?"

He has a point, Keito has to admit, but the implications of that are even more confusing and not something he's entirely ready to consider.

"So you're just playing with me for fun?" Keito frowns, somehow already knowing that's not the reason. Rei likes to tease people, yes, but not like this.

"If you want to think that, you can." The kiss Rei presses to his lips is soft this time. "Maybe it's best if you do."

"Is it?" Keito drapes an arm unthinkingly over Rei's waist, relaxing against the surprisingly plush interior of the coffin. This is closer to the Rei he knows: one who talks incessantly in riddles, maybe, but without any malicious intent. "I still need my glasses back."

"All in good time," Rei chuckles. "You seem to have calmed down, at least."

"Well, I have a feeling you won't be letting me go until you've gotten what you want from me...whatever that is...so there's no point in trying to fight it," his fingers spread out over Rei's lower back, the touch no longer casual, and Rei lets out a low, pleased hum from somewhere deep in his throat.

"I don't want anything from you. Haven't you figured that out yet?" Rei sounds just amused enough that Keito thinks he's probably making fun of him, but there's something else in his voice that tells Keito he's being serious.

"I guess I've convinced myself that you must, after everything," he admits, closing his eyes. It feels safe to let his guard down now, a familiar comfort that he hasn't felt in far too long settling between them once again.

"If I want anything, it's for you to stop avoiding me and presuming that I hate you," Rei finally replies. "That's it."

Keito doesn't say anything in response, but he tightens his hold on Rei a little and pulls him closer. There's a shuffling noise and then Keito starts a little when Rei's cold fingers touch his cheeks, sliding his glasses back into place.

"I need to go," he says, more for the principle of it than anything else because, strangely enough, he doesn't necessarily _want_ to leave now.

"I know. I promise I'll depart right away," Rei kisses him one final time before pulling back and shoving the lid of the coffin off.

Keito blinks as he sits up, even though it's almost fully dark now and the room isn't a whole lot brighter than the inside of the coffin, but at least he can sort of see again and the look Rei's giving him is somewhere between melancholy and serene.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Sakuma," he clears his throat, much less assured now that the real world feels like it's intruding.

"You know," Rei rests a hand on his knee, getting his attention. "I'm here most days. If you're ever doing the school sweep again, you're welcome to check in on me."

"I'm scheduled to do it again in two days," he says before he can stop to think why he shouldn't, and Rei smirks enough to show his fangs.

"Good. I'll be waiting," he doesn't seem inclined to move from the coffin, settling himself comfortably again as Keito stands and steps out onto the floor of the practice room.

He straightens his tie, trying to fix his wrinkled school blazer, and doesn't look back again as he leaves the room.

Two days, he thinks absently, touching his fingers to his lips. It almost doesn't feel real now, away from the closeness and darkness of the coffin, but he knows it happened and he knows that Rei, for whatever reason, has basically invited him to come do it again.

Keito finds himself smiling at the thought, looking forward to this part of his student council duty for perhaps the first time ever, and even though he might still not completely understand where Rei's head is at right now...he knows he won't rest until he finds out.

Not that he's dreading the process, of course. Not at _all_ , really.

Eichi won't think anything of it if he keeps volunteering in the blond's place, after all, and from here on out he won't even feel bad about taking on the extra work.

Because this time, he's not doing it for Eichi: he's just doing it for himself.

And that makes all the difference.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. _Bozu_ is something that Rei calls Keito in the White Day event and again in the Magicians Assemble event and is a rather dismissive way to refer to young boys (it can also mean a Buddhist monk, and Keito does come from a rather traditional Buddhist family so that would apply to him as well, but since this is Rei it's probably the first one!!)
> 
> 2\. This series is basically a work in progress but I'm open to requests! Ifs you have a pairing or idea you'd like to see feel free to leave a comment here or give me a shout on [twitter](http://twitter.com/_mikarashis) and I'll try to get around to it! I'm open to most pairings and I want to challenge myself writing different characters and combinations so I'd love suggestions :)


	2. Leo/Izumi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for Jay @silentoath on Twitter! I actually sorted about half of the enstars cast into houses but I didn't get to use all of them in this fic. It was fun, though.

Izumi hates Gryffindors.

Not the house, specifically, and not even all of the people in it (though, considering his own house, it wouldn't be out of character if he did) - but the specific 7th-year Gryffindors who aren't leaving the dorm so he has no chance to be alone with his boyfriend?

Yeah. He hates them.

He's currently curled up at the foot of Leo's bed, pretending to be asleep, but he's not willing to change back into his human form until he's sure the room's empty and by the amount of noise coming from his immediate surroundings he knows that's not the case.

Leo pats his head absently and he lets out a grumble, stretching his front paws out and kneading the edge of the blanket.

In a way, though he had been disappointed initially when his years of work had resulted in him becoming a _housecat_ , taking this form was actually a blessing. Nobody will think it's strange if Leo has a cat, after all, and Izumi pretty much has free run of the school.

Yes, the fear of being caught is still there, but he's careful and knowing that he can spend time with Leo without people judging them for it, that he can look out for Leo make sure he doesn't get himself into trouble when he's wandering around and lost in his own composing world - that makes it worth the risk.

(There's another reason he decided to give being an Animagus a try, but it's one he won't readily admit because how was he supposed to know that vampires could naturally turn into bats? Of course, it's not like Ritsu had actually _told_ him that until after he'd started the process and by then his own pride wouldn't allow him to give up without succeeding, but he's still a little bitter about it).

He starts purring without meaning to, Leo's fingers rubbing into his fur in just the right ways, and he stretches out a little and opens his eyes to glance around the room.

There's only two others in the dorm right now, one of them being Ritsu's older brother, but unlike Ritsu who relished the advantages that being a dark creature in an appropriate house gave him (that is, being able to get away with anything - including sleeping through most of his classes), Rei seemed to take the exact opposite approach to his school experience.

That a vampire was sorted into Gryffindor was rare enough by itself, but that he was actually a good student and a Prefect on top of that, that most people would call him responsible and just and helpful - that was nearly unheard of, and Izumi grudgingly had to admit he had a bit of respect for Rei going against what was expected of him.

"Captain! We're heading out to the pitch for practice."

Izumi glances toward the door of the room, recognizing the speaker as one of the sixth-year Prefects mostly because he's Ritsu's friend, but the other occupant of the dorm room all but leaps out of bed, picking up the protesting boy around the waist and crashing his way down the staircase.

"Chiaki-kun is lively tonight," Rei chuckles, glancing out the window at the darkening sky. "Hmm, I might go for a stroll around the grounds myself...are you staying here?" he addresses this to Leo, who nods absently.

He's lying on his back, tracing patterns in the air with a furrow between his eyebrows, and Rei stands up to head toward the exit of the dorm.

"I suspect nobody will disturb you for a couple of hours," his red eyes land on Izumi and Izumi gets the feeling, the way he always does when Rei's around, that Rei _knows_ somehow.

He'll never tell, but if he can figure it out that means Izumi has to be really, _really_ careful who he even lets _see_ him in his cat form.

Because it's not like he's unrecognizable, not with his fur the same odd silver colour as his hair and his eyes the same brilliant shade of blue. No, anybody who looks closely will be able to tell, but Izumi just hopes nothing bad ever comes of it even if people _do_ figure it out.

Luckily, Animagus are rare enough that most students wouldn't think about one of their own making the effort to become one, so he can probably rely on that to keep him safe.

"Mm, good, maybe I can get this song written," Leo mumbles, not looking at Rei, but Izumi watches the vampire leave and waits for a solid two minutes before shifting back into his human form.

"Finally."

"You're so impatient, Sena," Leo reaches to draw the curtains around the bed canopy, protecting them from any prying eyes. "And I see you've come prepared," he reaches out, his fingers sliding between the edges of Izumi's open shirt.

"Why waste time on clothes I don't need?" Izumi sits up, slipping his shirt off entirely and reaching to undo the buttons on Leo's.

"It'd be hilarious if somebody made you turn back once and you were naked," Leo's grinning and Izumi rolls his eyes, wondering as he always does about the other boy's definition of 'hilarious' because Izumi would assuredly _not_ find it funny. "Wahaha, I can just imagine it!"

"Good think you don't have to imagine it," Izumi grunts, and the way Leo's eyes darken at that, the way his grin turns from amused to predatory - it all makes Izumi's pulse quicken and he can't restrain himself any longer.

"We can't," Leo murmurs softly and Izumi sighs in annoyance, knowing he's right but hating it at the same time. "I know," Leo promises, reaching to cup his cheek and drawing him closer. "Christmas break, okay? Come to mine?"

"That's months away!" Izumi protests, but there's not really much they can do about it. He shouldn't be here in the first place, after all.

Leo keeps giving him that soft smile, the one that makes Izumi feel like he's the most beautiful person in the world, and he leans down to kiss Leo in order to cover his embarrassment.

He groans softly as their bare chests press together, hands coming up to fist in Leo's shaggy hair. Half of his brain is telling him that they have time, that Rei at least will probably make sure they're not disturbed for a little while, but the other knows it's not worth it.

Getting caught - _especially_ getting caught being an unregistered Animbus - means he might never see Leo again, and he doesn't even want to think about that.

Leo seems to sense that he's having some sort of inner turmoil and holds him gently, warm hands stroking down Izumi's bare back to settle around his waist. "It's okay," he whispers, thumbs rubbing circles into Izumi's skin just above his hipbones. "One day we'll be out of here and then nobody will be able to stop us being together."

"I know," he sighs, curling up on Leo's chest in a way that's not entirely unlike the cat he can turn into, and Leo nuzzles his hair affectionately. "It just seems so long."

"Maybe that's our own fault. My own fault," Leo amends, his hands still tracing idle patterns over Izumi's skin like he's trying to commit every inch of it to memory.

"Will you ever tell me where you went?" Izumi asks softly, already knowing the answer.

"Maybe," Leo has a faraway look in his eyes that Izumi doesn't like, staring at the bed canopy like he's seeing something that isn't there.

And that's really how this whole thing started, though Izumi has been in love with Leo for far longer than he cares to think about. Their first day on the Hogwarts Express, back when he was just a brash eleven-year-old who thought he knew everything, he'd been pulled into Leo's pace and somehow on the trip to school they'd become friends.

Being sorted into opposing houses didn't seem to deter Leo any, and he made every effort to spend time with Izumi (and, eventually, Ritsu, who probably ended up being part of their group just because he happened to fall asleep close to where Leo and Izumi were talking one day in the library). Arashi was an acquaintance of Izumi's from ages back, a fellow child model, and in their third year when Leo had taken a liking to 'that newbie Gryffindor' somehow they'd become a group of five.

And then, halfway through their sixth year, Leo had disappeared. Nobody mentioned it, none of the teachers talked about it, and while Izumi had tried to ask his younger sister she claimed not to know anything either.

He showed up again on the train platform at the beginning of their final year, looking a little worse for wear, but Izumi's reaction to seeing him again had been somewhere between anger and elation and he struggled for a long time between punching him and kissing him before deciding on the latter.

That was really only a couple of months ago, but Izumi feels like everything with Leo is so natural that he's amazed they haven't been dating for years already.

"It doesn't matter," Izumi says, even though it does, but right now?

No, it doesn't matter right now.

"You're here now, right?"

"Yep. I'm not leaving you guys alone again," Leo promises with a grin, leaning up to kiss Izumi.

It's a little slower this time, more exploratory, and Izumi sinks into it gratefully.

Everything feels so perfect right now that he never wants to leave, even though the world outside their enclosed bed is waiting to intrude at any moment.

"I love you, Sena," Leo murmurs against his lips, barely loud enough to hear, and Izumi hums happily.

"Idiot," he replies, his own way of saying he loves Leo back. Leo laughs softly, acknowledging the words for what they are, and pulls Izumi more firmly on top of him.

They stay there for a time in silence, trading kisses and soft touches that say more than words ever will, though eventually Leo sighs and glances through the tiny crack in the curtains surrounding the bed. "It's getting dark."

"So?"

"You know you can't stay," Leo reminds him, and they've gone over this a hundred times - a _million_ times - but Izumi still resists because voluntarily leaving Leo is something he can't do. "Even if you stay in your cat form, somebody's going to notice you're not in your bed."

"I know, I know," Izumi sighs and sits up, shrugging back into his shirt and stretching his limbs out. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Mm, and all the days after that," Leo promises, sitting up as well and pulling Izumi into a good-night kiss. "I'll find you before breakfast."

"Okay. I'll be waiting," Izumi hugs him tightly and then reluctantly lets go, morphing back into his cat form just as they hear footsteps on the stairs.

Morisawa is yelling again and Izumi can hear Rei's soft chuckle as well, so he probably _did_ hold the other boy off for a bit and Izumi will have to thank him for it...sometime...

He nuzzles Leo's hand and hops off of the bed, sliding through Morisawa's legs and brushing lightly against Rei's in a silent acknowledgment of...what, he isn't really sure, but it's _something_.

"Check on my brother before you head back, will you?" Rei leans down to pet him, his voice a low murmur, but if Izumi didn't think Rei knew before,  _now_ he certainly knows that he does. "He'll be in the sixth-year dorm."

Izumi purrs, arching his back under Rei's touch and sliding out of the room. He pads carefully down to the next room on the staircase, barely attracting a passing glance from any students lingering there.

The room is mostly empty except for one bed that looks far too occupied to hold only one person and Izumi jumps up, swatting at Ritsu's dark hair until he wakes up.

Spoiled brat, Izumi thinks irritably, since he can get away with hanging out in the Gryffindor tower because of his brother and the fear most of the school has of vampires while Izumi has to sneak around like a criminal.

"Secchan?" Ritsu mumbles, scratching under his chin. Izumi swipes a paw at him irritably and looks toward the door, and Ritsu yawns and nods. "Yeah. I'll come back down soon. I'll just fly there if it gets too late," he adds, since nobody would really notice a bat if the corridors were dark.

The boy beside him, the same one that had come to call Morisawa earlier, stirs a little and Ritsu gives him a smile that Izumi's never seen directed at anyone else.

"Ritchan...what's..."

"Go back to sleep Maa-kun," Ritsu replies. "I'll stay for a bit."

"Mm," he sighs, red hair falling in his face as he curls closer to Ritsu.

Izumi figures that's his cue to leave and he does so with a last pointed glance at Ritsu, heading down to the common room and slipping out when somebody else decides to enter.

The castle's already quiet this time of night, the last straggling students returning to their dorms and clearing the halls before curfew, and he doesn't run into any trouble until about halfway to the Slytherin common room when he suddenly gets picked up and starts hissing instinctively.

"Now, now, what's a cute little thing like you doing out so late at night, hmm? Another romantic rendezvous with Ou-sama?" the voice is teasing and Izumi relaxes, although he doesn't feel any less grumpy.

Mostly because he's kind of outed himself as a hypocrite, given that he keeps complaining about Ritsu having special privileges when _he's_ got Prefects looking out for him, too.

Arashi holds him rather comfortably, at least, and he grumbles and growls a little as they head deeper down into the castle.

"Ugh, I don't know how you can live down here, Izumi-chan," Arashi sounds disgusted. "It's so dark and damp."

And yeah, it _would_ be to a Ravenclaw used to living up in their fancy tower, but Izumi's gotten used to it over the years.

"You know," Arashi keeps talking, probably because Izumi can't reply in this form, or maybe because the silence _does_ tend to feel oppressive and the air close down here near the dungeons. "If you really want some alone time with Ou-sama, there's a Hogsmeade visit coming up next weekend. All you'd have to do is make sure the dorm is empty and you'd have all day to yourselves..."

It's said in a tone that's entirely too knowing, though Izumi can't exactly blame Arashi since, well, what _else_ would he and Leo do if they finally got some privacy?

And it's possible...maybe...if he talks to Ritsu's brother...

He lets out a tiny distressed meow, because the thought of being indebted to anybody doesn't sit well with him at all, but maybe he needs to swallow his pride if he wants this to happen.

It's something to think about, anyway, but it's not like he'll ever thank Arashi for giving him the idea.

Arashi will know he's grateful whether he says so or not, so it doesn't matter.

"Well, this is as far as I go," Arashi sets him down, scratching under his chin and smiling. "Say hi to Ritsu-chan for me, okay?"

Izumi rubs against Arashi's ankles, the only reply he can really give, and pads into the common room.

It's empty except for Hakaze trying to chat up a couple of sixth-year girls on the sofa, but since that's a daily occurrence, Izumi barely even notices him anymore.

He makes it to the seventh-year dorm and transforms before entering, though there's nobody else there at the moment, and flops on his bed rather forlornly.

Arashi's suggestion is still floating through his mind, of course, and he decides he'll bring it up with Leo in the morning.

It's still not perfect, because as sappy as it is, the thing he wants to do the most is fall asleep beside Leo and wake up next to him in the morning, but he supposes for now even a few hours together is better than nothing.

One day they'll be able to spend all the time they want together, and it might not be easy, but he can wait.

After all, if he gets to be with Leo, it'll be worth it in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to request a short fic hit me up on [Twitter!](http://twitter.com/_mikarashis) And feel free to let me know what you thought :)


	3. Ritsu/Mao

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was inspired/influenced by a few people on twitter (you know who you are) and after that I couldn't stop myself from writing a little something for it. 
> 
> Warnings for the chapter: mild knifeplay, bloodplay, and vampires. I don't know if the last one needs a warning, but this is Ritsu we're talking about...

"Oh, he's pretty."  
  
"Knew you'd like him," Izumi turns from where he's crouched down on the floor, something too close to amusement in his icy blue eyes. "Found him skulking about on the roof. If they wanted to send in a spy, they picked the greenest one."  
  
"Ahh, what would they even need a spy for? It's not like what we do is any sort of secret," Ritsu yawns, his eyes roaming over the man...boy, really...lying on the floor. "Don't hurt him."  
  
"I didn't! He had a gun so I had to disarm him and I figured keeping him bound and gagged would stop him from trying to call for backup or something...he had this, too," Izumi tosses him what looks like a Bluetooth-type communication device.  
  
"Good. I want him," Ritsu decides, baring his teeth and running his tongue over the tip of one pointed canine.  
  
"He seems like your type. Go easy on him, Kuma-kun, he's still valuable," Izumi cautions him, passing him a key that Ritsu assumes is for the handcuffs currently around the man's wrists.  
  
"I don't kill in cold blood, Secchan, even if he's a spy," he gives Izumi a rather pointed look and the other man holds his hands up and walks away, grumbling to himself about vampires as he leaves the room. "Now."  
  
The man looks at him from where he's rather feebly trying to crawl away, brilliant green eyes wide with fear.  
  
"I'm not going to hurt you. Well, not much," Ritsu amends, because he guesses 'hurt' might be a subjective term. "We're not into torture, either. Nothing that'll cause permanent harm, anyway."  
  
That doesn't seem to reassure him, judging by the way he physically shivers at the words.  
  
Ritsu sighs and leans forward, watching him flinch and squeeze his eyes shut, but all he does is remove the gag.  
  
"What's your name? And don't try to lie...like I said, we know who sent you, so we can find out pretty easily if you're being honest," he adds.  
  
"Mao," the kid whispers, curling into a ball with his bound hands in front of him.  
  
"Pretty," Ritsu reaches to run his fingers through Mao's messy red hair. "What were they trying to accomplish in sending you here?"  
  
"I don't...they told me to...that you had a computer and I was supposed to..." he gulps. "There's a drive in my pocket, I was supposed to copy some files and..."  
  
"They wanted to know our future plans, huh?" Ritsu growls and Mao squeaks, covering his face with his hands as best he can. "Well, now we _really_ can't let you go."  
  
"Then kill me," Mao's voice shakes on the words and Ritsu knows he's terrified. "I don't want to be a prisoner."  
  
"You're not really in any position to be making demands, Maa-kun," he coos, not sure where the nickname comes from, but it seems appropriate.  
  
Mao blinks at him, surprise breaking through the fear for a moment. "What-"  
  
"I think I'll call you that from now on," Ritsu hums. "I like it."  
  
"Uh, _I_ don't..."  
  
"Again, you don't get a say here," Ritsu slaps his cheek lightly and Mao tries to curl in on himself further. "I need to tell our king what you've been up to so that we can start modifying our file security. Sit tight," he pats the top of the boy's head and leaves, letting the door slam behind him.  
  
He doesn't trust the kid not to try and escape, of course, but the only way out of the room is through the door and it locks from the outside. There's an alarm on it, too, so he has no chance to go anywhere, and Ritsu decides he'll let him stay there for a bit while he looks for Leo.  
  


000

  
He returns a while later to find Mao pressed up against the door, a pin in his hand that he's trying to work into the keyhole, and sighs at the predictability of it all as he drags him back to the middle of the room and pushes him to sit on the floor.  
  
"I'm going to cuff your hands behind you right away," he warns, a hint of a growl seeping into his voice. "Don't test my patience. I don't have much of it."  
  
"What, you want me to just lie down and accept this?"  
  
"You're the one who got caught, so yeah," Ritsu shrugs. "Not my fault you're a bad agent."  
  
"They told me this was easy," Mao sighs and flops back on the floor.  
  
"You're working with Tenshouin's group, yeah? Don't believe anything he says," Ritsu feels bad for this kid, he does, since he knows Tenshouin.  Personally, he doesn't have much of an issue with the guy, but he knows Leo doesn't like him and he's  _pretty_ sure the feeling's mutual.  
  
"Guess it's too late for that warning," Mao grumbles, glancing over at Ritsu. "They say you're a vampire. Was that a lie, too?"  
  
"Hmm, I don't know," Ritsu grins and flashes his teeth again. "Was it?"  
  
"On second thought, I don't think I want to know," Mao slinks away again.  
  
"Well, to be honest, I _am_ getting a little hungry," Ritsu chuckles, pulling a switchblade out of his pocket and opening it.  
  
"Wait, what..."  
  
And Ritsu doesn't do it very often, because people would get too suspicious, but since Mao's about to find out anyway he hardly thinks it matters. He's on him in a second, pinning him to the floor with superhuman strength and straddling his waist.  
  
"Lie very, very still and nothing bad will happen," Ritsu murmurs, though Mao seems too terrified to do more than squeak a little. "I knew I wanted you as soon as I saw you, and it's _very_ hard to deny somebody like me when they want something."  
  
His hands reach for Mao's suit jacket, shoving it out of the way.  
  
"Lift your hands above your head."  
  
"What are you going to do to me?" Mao asks shakily. "Please, if you're just going to kill me, don't make me suffer..."  
  
"Maa-kun, no," Ritsu shakes his head and leans closer. "You're safe here. Probably safer than you are with Tenshouin, to be completely honest."  
  
"Then what's with the knife?" Mao asks, gasping when Ritsu stats undoing the buttons on his shirt. "You could just..."  
  
"I could, but then your clothes would be ruined," Ritsu counters, stopping briefly to yank off his gloves and shrug off his own suit jacket. "Do you need these?" he reaches to pull off the black-rimmed glasses Mao's wearing, though from the way his eyes instantly focus he can tell Mao doesn't.  
  
They look good, though, so Ritsu carefully sets them off to the side.  
  
"Keep your hands up and stay perfectly still," he orders again, and this time Mao complies. His eyes look even brighter without the glasses to shroud them, emerald-green and almost blazing with intensity. "Good."  
  
He picks up the knife again, turning it so that the blunt side is facing down, and presses the tip just under Mao's navel.  
  
Mao sucks in a sharp breath, his hands clasped together in the cuffs, and his entire body shudders when Ritsu drags the knife ever-so-slowly up his chest.  
  
"See? You can trust me," Ritsu murmurs, bending to graze the shell of Mao's ear with his lips.  
  
"Ritsu..." he sighs, and hearing his name like that makes Ritsu stop moving for a second.  
  
"You...of course, they told you all of our names, right? Well, you're free to use it if you want," he kisses the side of Mao's neck.  
  
"What are you doing to me?"  
  
"Priming you," Ritsu replies, going back to his work. The knife slides easily along Mao's smooth skin, and while Ritsu would _really_ like to take his time and explore his body more thoroughly, the hunger inside of him is too great to ignore at the moment.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because," Ritsu chuckles, moving the knife up to Mao's shoulder. "Feeding is more enjoyable when your blood is active. If you're scared, or...aroused...it tastes so much sweeter," he lets out a blissful sigh and Mao turns his face to the side, almost like he's trying to hide.  
  
And Ritsu can tell that he's not scared anymore, because his scent changes.  It's no longer the steely coldness of fear, but rather something that's a lot more heady. Ritsu can almost _feel_ his nerves become far closer to anticipation the more he works on him.  
  
"You don't need to be ashamed, Maa-kun," Ritsu assures him. "Vampire pheromones are admittedly powerful."  
  
Mao still doesn't look at him, chest heaving with breath now and a rosy flush starting to spread downward from his neck.  
  
Damn, he's gorgeous.  
  
"I'm going to drink now. Is that okay?"  
  
And he shouldn't be asking...he isn't _used_ to asking, he's used to just taking what he needs and not feeling any guilt from it, but somehow...  
  
Somehow, Mao's different.  
  
"Yeah," Mao whispers. "Yeah, do it."  
  
"Thank you," Ritsu kisses his shoulder out of pure gratitude before he steadies the knife again, applying just enough pressure to break the skin. Mao groans quietly, eyes blinking open enough to look at what Ritsu's doing.  
  
He drags the knife over, leaving a shallow cut across the front of Mao's shoulder, and watches the crimson liquid well up for a few seconds before he dives in and fastens his mouth over the scratch.  
  
"Ah..." Mao gasps, his body writhing on the ground. "Ritsu..."  
  
"Mm," Ritsu hums, sucking gently and letting the sweet, sweet taste of Mao's blood fill his mouth. It's as good as he thought it would be, a flavour that he knows will become easy to crave. He can't, because Mao's not going to be around forever, but oh...oh, he _wishes_ he could.  
  
It's hard to pull away, to seal the skin with his lips and tongue, and he can feel that Mao's pliant and relaxed beneath him now.  
  
"Thank you," he says again - _for the meal, for giving me permission, for trusting me_ \- and Mao lowers his bound hands to rest them on Ritsu's back, gripping his shirt and pulling him up.  
  
"Why didn't you bite me?" he asks softly, letting out a little whine when Ritsu takes the knife and starts tracing patterns against his skin.  
  
"Biting's more of a...well, let's just say it's s little too serious for a first date," he smiles against Mao's neck and hears him laugh softly.  
  
"You're not going to let me go, are you?" he asks after a few beats of silence, causing Ritsu to let out a resigned sigh.  
  
"No. I can't. You know too much, and the people you're working for will just find you and make you tell them. As I said, right now, you're safest here," he sets a hand on Mao's bare stomach, feeling it rise and fall as he breathes.  
  
"They won't care about losing me. If you set a ransom or something," he clarifies, but really, Ritsu already knew that. They'd lead one of their lambs to slaughter to test them both: Mao if he was good enough to be a top agent, and Knights to gauge how strong their defences were.  
  
Next time Tenshouin will be more careful, and they'll have to be on their guard, but for right now...for right now, he can relax for a bit.  
  
"We still will," Ritsu replies. "See how they respond, anyway, and it gives us some time to revamp our security."  
  
Mao makes a little sound that could be acknowledgment, his arms tightening around Ritsu. "So I just have to stay here?"  
  
"For a while, yes," Ritsu doesn't sound particularly sorry, but really, he _isn't_. He's selfish by nature and he's decided that he wants Mao, after all, so he has no issues with this arrangement.  
  
"Mou, Ritsu-chan," the door slides open and Ritsu glares over his shoulder, snuggling closer to Mao. "You're being, like, _rude_ , you know? Offer our guest something to eat and drink, too, instead of just taking blood from him."  
  
"Seriously, between Natchan and Secchan, you're not gonna be lacking having a doting sister or a nagging mother," he grumbles, calling out that they'll be there soon.  
  
"Yeah? Maybe that's not so bad," Mao admits, raising his hands without any prompting so Ritsu can do up his shirt again. Ritsu picks up the glasses and slides them back onto Mao's face, moving back to sit on his heels. "Are you going to uncuff me?"  
  
"With this?" Ritsu holds up the key and very deliberately sticks it in his back pocket. "Mm, I dunno, Maa-kun...I can't just let you go," he stands up. "So maybe you'll have to put up with it for a while yet. Or maybe you can redeem yourself as an agent and get out somehow," he raises an eyebrow and Mao smirks at him, somehow looking more alive and more appealing than Ritsu has seen him so far.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Yeah," Ritsu helps him to his feet, taking his arm to guide him to the door.  
  
They'd barely gotten outside the room when Arashi practically jumps on them, fussing over Mao and checking his injuries, and Ritsu lets go of him so he can take the full brunt of Arashi's sometimes-overbearing concern.  
  
That Mao actually looks back to _him_ for help after a few seconds of this is something he's going to take a lot of pride in, he decides, and he hopes that maybe one day Mao can look at him as much more than just that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's probably obvious but Mao's wearing the outfit he wears in his Agents set card, and Knights are more or less in what they're wearing on their second album cover, if anybody's interested in knowing!


	4. Leo/Arashi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This does include some spoilers for both the Robin Hood archery club gacha and the StarFes event, so heads up if you haven't read those or seen summaries of them!

The sound of something tapping against his window is what wakes him up, and a bleary glance at his phone reveals it's...4:22 in the morning...or otherwise _far_ too early for him to even _think_ about getting up if he wants to maintain a proper sleep schedule.   
  
His skin is bad enough in the dryness of winter anyway so this certainly isn't going to help his incredibly detailed routine that includes several hours of _uninterrupted_ sleep.   
  
It's not a tree branch making the noise, though, since there aren't any trees nearby, and it's not sleet or snow hitting the window either considering the night is calm and clear.   
  
So that means he has to get up and look, and he groans rather pitifully and slides out of bed and into the chill air of the bedroom to pad to the window.   
  
Nyanko is already there, tiny nose pressed against the glass and tail swishing back and forth hypnotically as she stares down at the ground.   
  
The ground where a very familiar figure is standing.   
  
The ground where a very familiar figure is standing _and throwing pebbles at his window_.   
  
He should have known.   
  
He cracks the window open, hoping no rocks are flying at the moment, and sticks his head out.   
  
It's cold, and his teeth start chattering instantly, but he puts up with it and tugs Nyanko up onto his shoulder before she gets any ideas about heading out to the windowsill.   
  
"Ou-sama!" he hisses, and he can see the grin on Leo's face when he looks up even in the almost-darkness. "What are you _doing_ here?"  
  
"Naru!" Leo shouts and waves like he's _not_ standing in a foot of snow at 4:22 in the morning and Arashi makes a shushing motion with his hand. "Naru," he repeats in a much quieter tone of voice. "Merry Christmas!"  
  
"Couldn't you have, like, waited until a decent hour? Or texted me if you were so desperate to tell somebody?" Arashi sighs, already knowing the answer to both of those things is 'no' where Leo's concerned.   
  
"But I wanted to see you!" Leo exclaims, and to anybody else it would seem like he's just being selfish and random again but...  
  
But Arashi _knows_. He knows they share something far deeper than he would have ever expected even a few weeks ago, and there's the slightest hint of desperation to the end of Leo's words that make him think this isn't just one of his king's odd whims.   
  
He's here for a reason, and wrecked skin routine or not, Arashi's not heartless enough to turn him down.   
  
"Come to the door. I'll let you in. But be quiet, my parents and brother are sleeping," he adds, hoping that Leo will contain himself at least until they're both in Arashi's room.   
  
Thankfully, all he does is nod, and Arashi sighs and slides his feet into a pair of slippers so he's not walking on the cold floor.   
  
Leo bustles in with a flurry of snowflakes sticking to his hat and mittens and hair, lunging toward Arashi before Arashi holds up a hand to stop him.   
  
"No. You're not getting my pajamas wet."  
  
This earns him a rather childish pout, but Leo _does_ get undressed, taking off the hat and gloves and laying them almost reverently down (they're ones Izumi made for him, and Arashi notices that Leo's very careful when it comes to anything related to Izumi these days, but maybe that's expected given their past).   
  
He's wearing pajamas too, which makes Arashi think he really _had_ just bundled up and rushed out of his house without planning this properly, but he lets Leo hug him anyway once he's done taking his coat off.   
  
"Naru, you're so warm~" he mumbles into Arashi's shoulder, fingers clutching at him tightly.   
  
Arashi folds his own arms around Leo and thinks about how small the older boy feels now. Leo always seems so much larger than life because his presence is _that_ great, but physically he's tiny and it's never more obvious than when Arashi's holding him like this.   
  
"Do you want something to eat? Drink?" he asks, deciding that even though it's far too early he's still going to be a good host.   
  
"Nah, don't wanna wake your family up. Can we go to your room?" Leo looks up at him, bright green eyes shining intently, and Arashi nods.   
  
"Yeah," Arashi takes his hand, mostly to keep him from getting distracted or wandering off, and leads him back to the bedroom. "Now. Are you going to tell me what you're doing here?" he sits on the bed, pulling one foot to rest underneath him and letting his other leg hang off the edge.   
  
"Ah...can I not want to see my Knights? Ooh, pictures!" and there he goes deflecting the question again, Arashi thinks with a sigh.   
  
"Ou-sama, can you not snoop around my private things?" he asks, not really irritated but hoping it will get Leo to stop and be truthful with him for once.   
  
"Aww, but I want to know Naru better! Hey!" he picks up a picture from the dresser, grinning.   
  
It's one of Knights from after the StarFes, all of them smiling happily and looking like an actual family (and really, despite all the trials at the start of the year, they're kind of becoming that).   
  
"Ooh, that's Itsuki's kid, right? And is this your family? And..." he bursts out laughing loud enough that Arashi has to tell him to be quiet again, but since the picture in question is rather hilarious, Arashi can't blame him too much.   
  
The first one is of him and Mika from after the Halloween live, and while it had been a struggle to get Mika to take a picture at all, he'd eventually relented (and Arashi knows he has a matching copy in his own room). The second is an old family photo, and the others...well, the others are mostly outtakes of old photoshoots, most of them of him and Izumi, and he keeps them because he knows how much Izumi hates them since 'these don't even show off my good side!  What the hell, Naru-kun, I look like an ass!'  
  
"I would have gone to his, you know," Leo's voice is a lot quieter now, his eyes focused on one of the pictures of Izumi. "But..."  
  
"Oh, his parents took him on vacation, right?" Arashi realizes, watching Leo closely as he sets the picture down and sits on the bed. "But I'm sure the others..."  
  
"Is it so hard to believe you were one of my first picks?" Leo's not joking now and Arashi has a feeling this is about to get really, really serious. He just hopes Leo doesn't grab him by the collar like he did last time because while it worked as far as getting him to talk went, he _hates_ wrinkling his clothes.   
  
"What about your family?" Arashi asks, reaching to lay his hand on Leo's knee.   
  
"My parents are out of town for a few days and Ruka-tan's staying with some of her school friends. So it's just me!" he says the last part with such feigned brightness that Arashi immediately sees through it.   
  
"If you wanted to spend Christmas here you could have just asked me," he points out, and Leo gives him a mischievous look.  
  
"Ah, but that would be sooo boring~" he flops back onto the bed. "This was way more fun."  
  
 _Fun for who_ , Arashi wants to say, but it's obvious the answer is 'Leo' since he's still not feeling too charitable about being woken up at this hour.   
  
Still, that Leo didn't want to be alone on Christmas and that Arashi was his first...well, second...choice is making him feel a lot warmer inside than he'll probably ever admit to.   
  
"And also," Leo sits up, his face becoming serious again. "I thought that maybe...after what you told me...maybe this was a bad time of year."  
  
 _'Bad',_  Arashi thinks bitterly, lips pursed into a thin line.   
  
He knows what Leo's referring to, and he can't say that he's wrong, but quite honestly he tries to keep those thoughts as far away as possible at this time of year.   
  
Maybe it's impossible not to feel a little sad when the days get shorter and colder and there's not much to do besides sit inside and get consumed by all manner of unpleasant thoughts, but he's tried really hard to put it from his mind entirely.   
  
And now Leo's brought it back.   
  
Yes, his intentions are good, but it's happening anyway and Arashi sighs and gets off of the bed to go look out the window.   
  
"Ahh, I made it worse, didn't I? Did I make it worse? Naru?" Leo's suddenly behind him, his warmth at Arashi's back and his breath hot and steady and _alive_ on the nape of Arashi's neck. "I'm sorry," Leo's arms slip around his waist.   
  
"It's okay, Ou-sama," he sighs, resting the fingertips of one hand on the window and feeling an icy chill through the pane. "But it's something I'd rather forget."  
  
"Yeah. I understand. Some things are better left alone," Leo's voice gets darker and while Arashi doesn't know everything that happened during the War, he's pretty sure that's what's on Leo's mind right now.   
  
"But it's nice of you to come check on me," Arashi adds, because that much is true.   
  
"Of course; of course!" Leo grunts a little and then his chin is hooked over Arashi's shoulder, warm breath washing over his cheek now. "You're too tall, Naru."  
  
"Maybe you're too short," Arashi replies, but he can't help smiling. In a way, it's hard to imagine he was ever afraid of Leo, but when Leo gets intense he can definitely be scary. Arashi's pretty sure by this point it'll never be directed at him, however, and he's glad for that since this Leo is somebody he feels an easy sort of comfort around.   
  
It's rare for him, but Leo has this way about him that makes people feel special and valued, and Arashi's willing to bet everybody in Knights would say the same thing.   
  
As much as Leo likes to claim that Arashi's the one who made Knights the way they are now, none of them would have come together at all if they hadn't been drawn in by him or by his legacy.   
  
"You're thinking, Naru," Leo murmurs, his arms tightening around Arashi's waist. "Should I go? Did I make things bad again?"  
  
"No. I'm glad you're here," Arashi replies truthfully, stepping away from the window and nearly tripping over Nyanko when she comes over to investigate Leo.   
  
"Kitty!"   
  
And then Leo's lying on the floor, holding Nyanko above him and laughing when she purrs and nuzzles his cheek.   
  
Arashi smiles, unable to stop himself because it's really kind of adorable.   
  
Leo looks up at him and grins, eyes crinkling at the corners. "Hey! You should come to the archery room sometime! We've got a cat. Well, cats. She had kittens. I named one after you!"  
  
Arashi blinks, trying to make sense of that incredibly confusing group of sentences. "There's cats in the archery room?"  
  
"Yeah! Keito and I found a stray but now she's got kittens...five of 'em. Nyaitsu, I figure, since there's one for each of us!" he's still smiling and it's so...childish, in a way, but also so _him_ that Arashi feels the same excitement Leo's exuding mirrored in himself.   
  
"I'll come by once school starts again," Arashi promises, and he means it, since Leo with one cat is cute enough so he's guessing Leo with multiple cats - especially kittens - will be even cuter.   
  
"Good!" Leo sits up, holding Nyanko in his lap. "You seem happier. Are you?"  
  
"Yeah," Arashi admits, sitting back down on the bed and yawning. "Mm, sorry."  
  
"No, no, I woke you up! I should go and you can sleep," he says quietly, looking guilty now.   
  
"You can stay," Arashi murmurs, not wanting to send Leo out into the snow and cold and back to an empty house on Christmas morning.   
  
"Okay," Leo agrees easily, lying down beside him. "Your parents won't mind?"  
  
"I'm sure they'll be fine with it," Arashi shrugs, since if anything they'll be happy he has a friend over.   
  
"Good," Leo shifts a little, frowning as he digs in his pocket, and then holds something up over them.   
  
Arashi glances up, squinting at the somewhat-crushed sprig of mistletoe that's dangling from Leo's fingers.   
  
"What's that for?"  
  
"Can't a king kiss his queen on Christmas?" Leo's voice is teasing but the look in his eyes isn't, and if anything Arashi thinks he's trying to cover up nerves. "I mean, if you-..."  
  
Arashi sighs, tangling one hand in Leo's hair and leaning in to press their lips together. He can feel Leo smile against his mouth, keeping the kiss chaste and pulling back after only a few seconds.   
  
"Your queen, huh?" Arashi knows he's blushing, but really, he doesn't think he can be blamed for that.   
  
"Yep!" he grins, dropping his hand and shoving the mistletoe back into his pocket.   
  
"I thought I told you I only wanted adults to flirt with me," Arashi reaches to tap Leo's nose playfully and Leo grins, looking predatory now.   
  
"Oh, Naru, you should know by now that, when I want to, I can be _very_  mature," he slides closer.   
  
"There's no mistletoe," Arashi reminds him, his heart beating a little faster because this is certainly an unexpected Christmas gift.   
  
"Nope. Don't need it," Leo decides, and Arashi doesn't stop the second kiss.   
  
it's only fitting for the king and queen of Knights, after all.

"Merry Christmas, Naru," Leo whispers when they part, green eyes sparkling and a giddy, incredulous look on his face.  

"Merry Christmas, Ou-sama," he replies, letting himself be drawn into Leo's warmth and life and irrepressible resilience.  

He's still a  _little_ annoyed about his sleep being disrupted, but considering the outcome, maybe it's not _so_ bad.

Besides, if _this_ can be his Christmas memory instead of the ones he'd rather forget, then he's really got nothing to complain about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. I've been thinking about Leo/Arashi for a while now, especially after the StarFes event, and thought this would be a good place to try out that pairing :)


	5. Shu/Nazuna

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic includes spoilers for both the StarFes event and the lyrics to Valkyrie's song 'Castle of Sand', so just a heads-up about that!

It starts with a nightmare.  
  
He doesn't remember much when he wakes up, vague images of hourglasses and sand flashing across his vision before they fade away with the morning light, and he dismisses it as a side effect of overworking himself without giving it much more thought.  
  
It's just a dream, anyway, so there's no need to worry.  
  
-  
  
By the fifth time it happens, he's starting to feel differently.  
  
Every night the images get clearer, the swirling sand feeling so real he half-expects to wake up with grit in his hair and grains in his sheets, and what started as a vague shadowy figure in the quickly-filling hourglass begins to gain a more definite form.  
  
Shu sees blond hair and cut strings before he wakes up with a gasp, hand clutching at his chest, because _none of this makes sense_.  
  
Nito's not trapped anymore, after all. He's free to be with his Ra*bits without feeling like Shu's controlling him, and no matter how Shu feels about that, he has no right to say anything since Nito isn't _his_ anymore.  
  
Maybe he never was, but especially not anymore.    
  
So why is Shu dreaming about him being trapped when he's free and independent? Why is Shu dreaming about him at _all_?  
  
He shakes his head in a vain attempt to clear it, trying to banish all memory of the dream from his brain, and slowly slides out of bed to get ready for school.  
  
At least he and Nito aren't in the same class so, some higher power willing, he won't need to run into him and be reminded of this.  
  
-  
  
Not running into Nito doesn't mean the dream goes away, however, and after a few more nights of this he can see the fear in Nito's eyes as the sand fills in around him, see the way the broken strings hang from his arms like a grim reminder of the cut ties between them. He tries to say something, to call out to Shu, but the hourglass is too thick and Shu can't do anything but stand there helpless until he wakes up.  
  
-  
  
Trying to keep himself awake goes about as well as one might expect, and all that ends up happening is the little sleep he does manage to get is _still_ interrupted by the dream.  
  
The bags under his eyes get darker and he can barely drag himself out of bed in the mornings, his feet feeling like they've been stuck in cement from the effort it takes to shuffle them along the floor.  
  
Kagehira worries that he's making himself ill again, but the last thing Shu needs is that boy fussing over him so he puts on the haughtiest look he can muster and tells him that everything's fine.  
  
He's lying, and he knows Kagehira knows it, but this is something Shu needs to deal with on his own.  
  
Whether it's some long-belated punishment for how he treated Nazuna in the past or a dire warning about getting too close to him again now - something that he at one time had thought would be impossible but what happened at Starfes was changing his mind a little - he's the only one who can figure it out.  
  
And he's going to.  
  
Or, rather, he _has_ to, if he doesn't want to make himself ill from lack of sleep.  
  
He has to.  
  
-  
  
"-ki. Itsuki! Oshi-san?"  
  
"What?" he snaps back to himself, swaying a little on his feet until somebody grabs his arm to steady him. It takes a few blinks to clear his blurry vision, his body nearly giving out as he fights to keep his balance.  
  
"You just...stopped and got this really blank look on your face. Are you okay?"  
  
Shu yanks his arm away, mustering the best glare he can in Nito's direction and making him take a step back. There's a hurt look in his eyes, hurt and a little fearful, and Shu has to look away because it reminds him far too much of the Nito in his dream and that's not something he can afford to think about now.  
  
"I was merely calculating costume measurements in my head," Shu lies, thinking that he managed to cover that rather smoothly. "So there was no need to interrupt me."  
  
"Are you sure?" Nito sounds suspicious. "If there's something wrong..."  
  
"There's nothing wrong," Shu replies tersely. "And, quite frankly, even if there was, you wouldn't be privy to it."  
  
"You know," Nito's voice trembles a little before it becomes stronger, but Shu still doesn't look at him. "I thought we were okay after Christmas. I thought maybe..."  
  
"You thought one good deed would make up for abandoning us in our time of greatest need?" Shu tries not to raise his voice. "No. You wanted to leave. You decided you didn't need us any longer, so I have no need of you either. The perfect doll I created was never meant to be this...aberration," he sniffs and stands up to his full height. "I would appreciate it if you never attempted to speak to me again."  
  
"Oshi-san..." Nito starts, but he doesn't sound scared. Before he would have been cowed and wouldn't have dared to speak out against a direct order, but Shu had forgotten that _this_ Nito isn't like that.  
  
"Please," he murmurs, closing his eyes tightly and breathing out. "I'll never ask anything of you again."  
  
And it hurts his pride to beg, but if it gets Nito to leave, he can deal with that.  
  
"Take care of yourself, okay?" Nito's fingers press into his gently and Shu grips back, unable to stop himself. "I'm worried about you."  
  
"Don't be," Shu pulls his hand away and shoulders his bag, walking down the hallway as quickly as his unsteady feet will allow in order to put as much distance between himself and Nito as possible.  
  
Thankfully, Nito doesn't follow him.  
  
-  
  
"You're being an ass."  
  
"Sena," Shu grunts, staring blearily up at his classmate. He doesn't know what this is about, but he hardly has the energy to deal with it regardless.  
  
"Seriously. He talks to me, y'know? He's told me all about Valkyrie and how things ended," Sena sits down beside him, wrapping his arms around his knees. "He's really upset."  
  
"That's none of my concern," Shu doesn't need clarification on who Sena's referring to, of course, because even when he tries it seems that Nito - or some ghost of him - won't leave Shu alone.  
  
"It's okay if you can't deal with it on your own," Sena clears his throat. "I mean, Nazunyan's got me and your kid's got Naru-kun," he adds, and Shu has to admit that he might have a point.  
  
Yes, he could have somebody - a lot of 'somebodies', really, between the rest of his so-called Oddballs and Kiryu - but that's not how he operates.  
  
Admitting such an obvious weakness is far beneath him, after all.  
  
"Thank you for your input," he decides being polite is the best way to get Sena to leave him alone, and he hears the other boy huff in obvious irritation before he stands.  
  
"Seriously. Think about it. Or I'll call your parents again," he says it like a threat and Shu smiles, unable to help himself.  
  
"Your concern is appreciated," he replies, glancing up as Sena goes red and mutters that it's not 'concern' before stuffing his hands in his pockets and stomping away.  
  
Sena had fallen right into that one, and while Shu lets himself be proud for a few seconds over one-upping him like that, his words don't fall on deaf ears.  
  
It's unlikely Shu's going to do anything about it, of course, but if things get worse...  
  
Well, he might have to consider it after all.  
  
-  
  
" 's three in the mornin', Oshi-san. Y' need t' sleep."  
  
"I'll go to bed after I've completed this," Shu replies, setting some fabric out and getting the sewing machine going.  
  
"Y' haven't even started yet! Yer gonna be up until we hafta leave fer school," Kagehira points out, and Shu knows if he turns to look the younger boy will be giving him the best glare he can come up with.  
  
It's still not very intimidating, because he's quite sure that Kagehira doesn't have it _in_ him to be intimidating, but he's definitely serious.  
  
"Let me take care of myself, Kagehira...."  
  
"No. I know yer not sleepin', and y' haven't been fer a while now," Kagehira's voice gets softer. " 'N I know y' prob'ly think I'm too stupid t' understand or whatever, but if yer havin' nightmares..."  
  
And Shu sighs, because he's just too tired to protest anymore. He needs to sleep, he needs to sleep so _badly_ , but he can barely close his eyes without the dream creeping up on him and it's wearing his already frail body down faster than he'd like.  
  
"C'mon. Sleep with me tonight," Kagehira holds out his hand and Shu takes it, letting the boy haul him to his feet and all but pull him down the hall to his room. "Maybe y' need a change of scenery."  
  
"Perhaps," Shu grunts, but this might be an okay temporary solution. Kagehira has seen him at his lowest, so it's not as if he has to keep up his image here.  
  
Still, he's not sure how sleeping under posters of freakish creatures and monsters is going to help with his nightmares, and he collapses into bed as his eyes seek out the picture above him. It looks like a doll, or a corrupted imitation of one, with a poorly-drawn face and shadowy tendrils creeping out from the fabric shroud over it's body.  
  
It's unnatural, a piecemeal creature with the illusion of perfection failing to cover its flaws, and yet...  
  
And yet, right now, Shu thinks he can relate. Hiding the ugliness inside in such a way is familiar to him, after all.  
  
"Ah, I'll turn the light off," Kagehira does, shrouding the room in darkness, and Shu feels the bed dip as he crawls in as well. "G'night, Oshi-san."  
  
He rolls closer to Shu's warmth, mismatched eyes squeezed shut as a content, crow-like croak slips from his throat, and Shu takes a shaky breath before his hand settles in Kagehira's messy hair.  
  
Sleep steals over him quickly despite his attempts to ward it off, but maybe the monsters keep him safe, or maybe Kagehira's presence soothes him, because for the first time in weeks, his slumber is peaceful and uninterrupted.  
  
-  
  
"I didn't do it for you."  
  
"Hmm?" Shu looks up from his work, his head turning toward the voice coming from the front of the handicrafts club room.  
  
"Starfes. I didn't do it for you," Nito picks his way through the half-finished costumes and piles of fabric strewn about on desks. "I did it for Mika-chin, because I didn't want him to get a bad grade since you weren't there."  
  
"I don't see why you're telling me this. Or why you're speaking to me at all," Shu adds, even though he's not quite as opposed to it as he had been last time.  
  
He would feel weak sleeping with Kagehira every night, of course, but at least it's enough to last him for a few days.  
  
He hopes.  
  
"Because Izumi-chin said you're not acting like yourself in class, and if he's actually admitting that he's worried, I know it has to be bad," Nito sits down opposite him, red eyes narrowed. "If you want me to leave you alone forever, then I will, but I know you're not that cold."  
  
"You do," Shu admits, setting his work aside. Nito knows him better than most, even though the nature of their past relationship was hardly healthy.  
  
"But I'm not your doll anymore," Nito says firmly. "You helped me a lot. You made me feel special and gave me a stage to stand on. You're the reason I was brave enough to try doing things on my own, because you gave me the courage to believe I was capable of it."  
  
"Of course you were. You're perfect," Shu says honestly, and Nito rolls his eyes rather noticeably. "What?"  
  
"That. That's the problem. I'm not perfect, Itsuki," Nito shakes his head. "I'm human. You're putting me on a pedestal, and it's not fair to either of us."  
  
"I..." Shu blinks, realizing that Nito may have a point. He does think he's perfect, unbelievably so, but the Nito that's in front of him right now is a far cry from the doll he'd so carefully crafted.  
  
He's defiant and independent and fiercely caring, but he's also stubborn and quick-tempered and no longer willing to be looked over or moulded into anything other than what he wants.  
  
But he's still perfect.  
  
Shu sucks in a quick breath of air because suddenly he gets it - Nito is perfect _despite_ his flaws, not because he lacks them. The boy trapped in the hourglass was Shu's idealistic vision of him, the one that even now Shu can't quite let go of, but it's not who he is.  
  
"I want us to be able to start over," Nito walks over, making a tiny noise of surprise when Shu's arms latch around his waist and pull him in. "Woah!"  
  
Shu breathes him in, leaning his cheek against Nito's chest and closing his eyes. He's so warm, so alive, and Shu finally feels at peace because he's figured the dream out.  
  
He needs to be the one to break the hourglass, to let the sand spill out and let Nito be free to be whoever he wants.  
  
And now, at least, he knows he can do it.  
  
"Start over," he repeats slowly, smiling when Nito's arms settle around his shoulders. "I think I'd like that."  
  
"Good," Nito pats his head and steps away, and Shu lets him go. "I'll let you get back to work."  
  
"If you wish to stay, you're welcome," Shu replies, not sure if Nito will take the invitation, but to his relief he sits back on the other side of the desk.  
  
"Okay," he smiles, propping his chin up on one hand, and Shu feels his cheeks burning a little as he goes back to what he had been doing.  
  
It's comfortable like this, even when Nito starts asking him questions about what he's working on, and Shu thinks that maybe the thing he had assumed had been broken beyond repair might be able to be fixed after all.  
  
-  
  
The nightmare doesn't come back.  
  
-  
  
He tells Nito about it, months later, when their relationship has settled and it's just a distant memory.  
  
Nito laughs, perched on Shu's lap like he's always belonged there, and leans in to press their lips together.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Admittedly, this ship was one I wasn't sure what to think about for a while but reading StarFes and seeing where they are now in canon as opposed to where they were at the end of Marionette made me consider it a bit differently. 
> 
> Also, the creature in Mika's poster can be whatever you want it to be, but I may or may not have been picturing a Mimikyu. I also may or may not have named my own Mimikyu Mika. 
> 
> As always, feel free to let me know if you enjoyed!


	6. Kuro/Chiaki

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For [Joanna](http://twitter.com/tsunusia), because there isn't enough chiakuro out there. 
> 
> Also this fic references the new character being added to the game using the information from the Ryuseitai white day event where Chiaki says he used to be in Ryuseitai and he 'caused a lot of trouble' for Chiaki when he left. Canon's probably going to render this fic au as soon as Madara shows up in an event so I wanted to get this out before that happened!

“Morisawa?”

  
“Huh?” Chiaki’s head snapped up, his breath catching in his throat as his fingers tightened to almost white-knuckled intensity on the basketball he was holding. He tried to keep it together, swallowing his tears back and standing up to his full height, pretending he was just picking up the ball instead of being slumped over in the corner and close to crying. “Kiryu?”

  
“Yeah,” Kuro grunted, his shoes making loud clacking noises against the hard floor of the gymnasium. “Tetsu said you were kinda off today so I thought I’d come check in.”

  
“Ah!” Chiaki forced a grin onto his face, knowing that he could turn the situation to his advantage now. If he could convince Kuro that Tetora was just overreacting, maybe he could get out of this without needing to offer any sort of actual explanation.

  
It wasn’t something to make a big deal about anyway.

  
“I’m fine, Kiryu!” he planted his feet, puffing out his chest and holding the ball under one arm now. “Nagumo doesn’t need to worry!”

  
“Uh-huh,” Kuro crossed his arms, tilting his head to the side and raising one eyebrow knowingly. “You might be able to fool him, Morisawa, but that doesn’t work on me.”

  
He was right. Kuro knew him too well to be fooled by false bravado, and Chiaki didn’t even know why he was feeling so adamant about hiding this when he didn’t have to be afraid to look vulnerable around Kuro, in any case.  


  
It probably had more to do with looking vulnerable at all, since that was something he tried pretty hard to avoid these days. The younger members of Ryuseitai would accept his assurances of being okay without question, and while Kanata usually gave him a rather quiet, knowing glance that implied he knew Chiaki wasn’t telling the truth, normally he would just pat Chiaki on the head and let the subject drop.

  
Kuro, however, wasn’t quite so easy to get rid of, and Chiaki pretty much knew there was no way he was getting out of here now without telling the truth.

  
“He was hanging around today,” he eventually said, his voice barely a whisper but sounding far too loud and echo-y in the empty gym.

  
“Mikejima?” Kuro asked, blinking slowly.

  
“Yeah,” Chiaki shrugged. “I don’t know if he wants to make up for…well, it doesn’t matter! I won’t keep you any longer so you can go h-“

  
“If you try to get by me you’ll end up on the floor with me sitting on you, you know,” Kuro said calmly, widening his stance a little in anticipation of Chiaki trying to dodge around him.

  
And Chiaki was no fool, so he knew better than to actually test Kuro on this one.

  
“He still bothers you, huh?” Kuro relaxed, his shoulders dropping a little.

  
“No,” Chiaki sighed, tossing the ball idly up in the air and catching it with both hands. “It’s not like I’m mad at him or anything, but I can’t see him without thinking about…”

  
“Yeah,” Kuro jammed his hands in his pockets, strolling leisurely to the far side of the gym and sitting down on one of the bleachers. “C’mere.”

  
Chiaki threw the ball up one more time before tucking it under his arm again, his eyes sliding toward the open doorway. Part of him thought that maybe he was fast enough to make it out, but the other was still sure Kuro would catch him somehow so he probably shouldn’t tempt fate.

  
He wandered over slowly, dragging his feet and settling himself as close to Kuro as he thought would make it seem like he didn’t want to get away. He set the ball between his feet, holding it there, and brushed some imaginary dirt off of his pants while he waited for Kuro to speak.

  
“It’s not good for you to dwell on this.”

  
“Oh, I’m not dwelling!” Chiaki knew his voice was too loud and too bright but he needed to keep going with it now that he’d started. “Not at all!”

  
“Mm-hmm,” Kuro leaned forward, tapping his fingers against his knee. “That’s why you’re crying in the gym alone after school hours, yeah?”

  
And Chiaki could feel himself deflate, his shoulders curling in on themselves as he slumped forward on the bench. “You’re one of the only people who can know about this. If my…”

  
“Your kids won’t judge you for being human, Morisawa,” Kuro said bluntly. “Hell, I’ve cried in front of Tetsu before and he still thinks I’m the coolest guy he knows, for some reason,” he noted, and Chiaki had to smile a little at that.

  
“Still, I have a reputation to keep up as the leader of…” he stopped, mostly since it was just insulting of him now to keep acting like Kuro would buy anything he was trying to sell.

  
“You know, Morisawa,” Kuro cleared his throat, his hand landing heavily on Chiaki’s shoulder and gripping it tightly. “If you ask me, a hero isn’t just somebody from your shows that saves the world from aliens and has superhuman powers. A hero is anybody that people can look up to and that tries to be the best person they can be, you know?”

  
“I’m just a fake,” Chiaki sighed, narrowing his eyes and trying to stop tears from forming again. “I need to at least pretend to be worthy of the title of Ryusei Red even if…”

  
“Hey,” Kuro nudged his shoulder a little harder. “Maybe you didn’t ask for this, but you sucked it up, right? Instead of falling apart, you found a way to bring these guys together and make yourselves a pretty decent group. I mean it helps that you’re as handsome as you are, but you can draw people to you, y’know?”

  
“Uh…” Chiaki swallowed, blushing a little at Kuro’s frankness. “Well. We’re doing alright, I guess…”

  
“And you know...sometimes it’s hard to forgive somebody who made life hard for you, or who treated you wrong, or put you in a position you didn’t feel right about,” Kuro’s voice was soft now, thoughtful in a way that Chiaki wasn’t used to hearing from him. “But how you move on from that is really up to you, you know? You can stay bitter and avoid it, or you can accept that it happened and stop dwelling on it.”

  
Chiaki frowned, since Kuro made it sound so easy to do.

  
“He made things hard for you for a while, yeah? But you’re doing your thing now and he’s doing his own thing and all you need to worry about is being happy with the person you ended up as after all of it,” he said, something knowing and proud in his voice.

  
“I guess it forced me to grow up a lot,” Chiaki admitted, leaning back into Kuro’s firm grasp. “I didn’t have a choice, but being Ryusei Red means something and even if it was fake, I had to be worthy of it,” Chiaki breathed out slowly, straightening his body so he was sitting upright.

  
“You are. Ask anyone in this school,” Kuro promised. “And maybe I don’t know much about exactly what happened to you, but letting go of your anger and moving on from it is always better than letting it build up and eat away at you,” he sounded certain of that.

  
Chiaki glanced back over his shoulder, not really wanting to pry. He had to admit that Kuro had given him a lot to think about and, from what he could tell right now, it was advice that would probably help him going forward.

  
“Anyway, you don’t have to listen to anything I said, but I thought I would say it anyway,” Kuro grunted, his lips turned down into a frown. It was endearing, that he looked so unsure if his advice was wanted or not, but Chiaki would always take it coming from him.

  
“No, I appreciate it!” he nodded, grinning at Kuro, and it felt much more natural to smile now. “I can’t pretend the things that happened didn't happen, but there’s no point in thinking about how it could have been different now. I just have to work with what I’ve got, and I’ve got some pretty great heroes by my side,” he realized, because even if his first years were untested and still learning, they were committed, and that was all he could ask for.

  
“Yeah,” Kuro patted his shoulder again before pulling his hand back, resting it lightly on the top of Chiaki’s head and rubbing just enough to mess his hair up. “Don’t forget that.”

  
Chiaki laughed at the action, pushing his head up into Kuro’s hand to let him know it was okay. “Thank you, Kiryu. I should have realized it long before now, but you always have good advice!”

  
“Well,” Kuro cleared his throat, a rather noticeable blush on his cheeks that Chiaki thought was kind of cute. “Don’t go spreading that around, Morisawa, or I’ll have people comin’ to me for counselling sessions or something and I’m not ready for that.”

  
“It can be our secret!” Chiaki winked, standing up and tossing the ball in the air again.

  
“Yeah. Sure,” Kuro got up as well, hands stuffed in his pockets again as he headed down the bleachers toward the exit door of the gym. “Don’t stay too late, okay?”

  
“Yep,” Chiaki promised, waving at him as he left, and he leapt down onto the floor to dribble the ball a bit and launch it at the net across the way, not even surprised when it went in without touching the rim.

  
He didn’t really need another sign to tell him that Kuro was right, since he’d decided that already, but it was nice confirmation regardless.

  
He picked up the ball and put it back on the rack with the others, shrugging his varsity jacket on and picking up his back before walking out of the gym and letting the door close with a final-sounding ‘thud’ behind him.

  
Who knew what Ryuseitai could have been if Madara had stuck around, but since he didn’t, the only thing Chiaki could really focus on is what they were going to become.

  
And he was more sure now than ever before that they would become something great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never written Kuro before so I hope this was okay!!


	7. Chiaki/Kaoru

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is based on one of the sub-stories in the new management feature where Chiaki is super excited about a new superhero movie coming out and asks Kaoru to go with him, so I entirely blame canon for this idea.

It’s the middle of March when he gives in.  

Chiaki has been asking him for the better part of a year now - seriously, were there  _ that many  _ superhero movies coming out? - and while Kaoru had always found some excuse or other, apparently the end of high school approaching has made him soft and this time he’d finally agreed.  

He’d considered backing out, of course, but the way Chiaki’s eyes lit up and the fact that he’d hugged Kaoru so enthusiastically that he’d lifted him clean off of the ground pretty much made up his mind that he’d have to see this one through.  

He didn’t want Chiaki to be disappointed, that’s all, and he’s a man of his word when it means something so for a couple of hours he could suck it up.  

Chiaki had all but dashed away after he’d finally let Kaoru go, yelling over his shoulder that he’d text him later with the details, and that was the last Kaoru had heard from him aside from said text.  

A text that, true to Chiaki’s form,  _ did _ include an address and a time - along with a lot of random emojis and far too many exclamation marks.  

Kaoru meets him outside the theater with  _ just  _ enough time to spare for them to grab some snacks and head inside, Chiaki excitedly informing him that he’d purchased the tickets  _ as soon as Kaoru had agreed  _ and made sure they got the best seats left.  

It’s fine, Kaoru supposes, since they’re in line with the screen but not so close that he’ll have to sit with his head craned back awkwardly for the next two hours.  Chiaki's still chattering away, apparently trying to fill Kaoru in on several seasons’ worth of plot and characters before the movie begins. Kaoru nods every once in a while, hoping he looks slightly interested, but Chiaki either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care because he’s still grinning excitedly when the lights finally go down.  

He goes quiet immediately,the lines of his body tense in his seat as he leans toward the screen almost far enough to upend the bag of popcorn on his lap.  Kaoru reaches to steady it, sliding it away and getting a flash of an apologetic grin. 

“Sorry!” Chiaki’s  _ attempting  _ to whisper, Kaoru thinks, but it’s still about the volume of a normal person talking.  “I’m really excited!”

“I can tell,” Kaoru replies dryly.  “But try not to get butter stains on your pants, yeah?"

“Yeah!  Thank you, Hakaze!” he gives Kaoru one of those blindingly dazzling smiles again and Kaoru loses his train of thought for a moment before recovering.  

“Hey, if you go out with me, you should look your best, right?” the words leave his mouth before he realizes with a small amount of horror that he’d just used the words ‘go out’ like they’re on a  _ date,  _ but once again Chiaki’s generous nature shines through because he doesn’t mention it at all.  

Kaoru slumps back in his seat, heart pounding much too quickly, and he’s not paying attention at all for the first few minutes of the movie but from what he can tell there’s a lot of fighting and a lot of people wearing ridiculous outfits.  

Well, ridiculous in the sense that he’s quite sure Ryuseitai’s next live will borrow heavily from them as long as Chiaki has a say in it, but if nothing else he can see where Chiaki’s vision for his unit comes from.  

The plot, from what Kaoru can figure out, isn’t much of anything - color-coded heroes saving a Tokyo-esque city from what looks like a giant Kraken - but Chiaki’s so engrossed that he can’t help but get a  _ little  _ invested.  

Just a little, though, because there’s not really any suspense when he  _ knows  _ the good guys are going to win, and he  _ totally  _ doesn’t gasp and cling onto the arm of his chair when one of the monster’s giant tentacles rips through a building and sends a shower of concrete down onto their leader.  

Chiaki must notice because he averts his eyes from the screen long enough to wink at Kaoru before he’s back to watching again, and an action that simple totally shouldn’t make Kaoru’s cheeks flush but it  _ does.   _

Chiaki, he’s realized, is incredibly handsome.  Sometimes it’s hard to remember when he’s being loud and either jumping on or picking up every single person in his general vicinity, but Kaoru’s seen him serious and even melancholy at times and his appeal is undeniable.  

...Theoretically speaking, of course.  It’s not an appeal that  _ Kaoru  _ would ever fall for, of course not - he’s 110% straight, after all.  

There’s another explosion on-screen, and this time Chiaki’s the one to grip the shared armrest, except…

Except Kaoru’s hand is still on there, meaning that Chiaki’s gripping his fingers instead, meaning that they’re  _ holding hands.   _

Chiaki lets out a breathless laugh once he realizes, his hand not moving.  “It’s intense, huh?” he shouts over the noise of the movie, and all Kaoru can do is nod and hope his fingers aren’t hopelessly sweaty or anything because he sure feels like melting into a puddle right about now.  

Maybe that way he could slip between the seats and slide in liquid form all the way out the door and into the ocean where he’d never have to deal with Morisawa Chiaki and his booming laugh and toned muscles and soulful dark eyes ever again.  

“Hakaze?  You alright?” Chaki leans close - much too close - and Kaoru scrambles back as far as he can in the seat.  

“Yeah!  Fine!” he yelps, glad that the movie is still loud enough to cover his panic.  

“Good!” Chiaki gives his fingers a last squeeze before moving his hand away.  Kaoru slides his own hand back quickly after that, deciding that Chiaki is now the sole owner of that armrest and he won’t be trespassing anymore.  

He eats some more popcorn for something to do, being sure to keep his hands in his lap, and while he’s  _ much  _ too flustered to even think about paying any sort of attention to in movie again, he’s sure it has a happy ending.  

-

“Hey!  We should go surfing sometime!” 

“Huh?” Kaoru’s hands are stuffed in his pockets as they walk down the street, thinking that he should have known better than to assume Chiaki would let him leave right after the movie was over.  As it stands, he’s suggested they go for burgers, and Kaoru could have  _ easily  _ said no - but his damn big mouth went ahead and said  _ yes  _ instead so they’re currently walking to the nearest restaurant.  

“Surfing!  You know, that thing you like!” Chiaki stops walking, settling his hands on Kaoru’s shoulders and looking at him seriously.  “Are you sure you’re okay? You’ve been kind of out of it.”

“I’m  _ fine,”  _ Kaoru repeats his earlier words, but it’s hard to lie when Chiaki’s entirely focused on him like this.  “And why would you want to go surfing? Do you even like it?”

“Not really,” Chiaki shrugs, giving Kaoru the softest smile he’s seen from him all day.  “But  _ you  _ do.  You came to this movie even though you don’t care about superheroes,” he points out.  

“Still, you don’t have to…”

“Hakaze,” Chiaki says firmly, stern enough that Kaoru snaps his mouth shut.  “Do you think I would have tried so hard to get you to come out with me just because I wanted to watch a movie with you?”

“Uh…” Kaoru’s pretty sure his brain is currently short-circuiting because he really,  _ really  _ hopes the answer to that question is ‘yes’ even though he’s known for at least a while that it’s not.  “Moricchi, I…”

“I know,” Chiaki laughs softly.  “I do. But everything else aside, today was nice.  And I’d like to spend more time with you. If you want that,” he adds, considerate and caring and he really  _ is  _ the living embodiment of a hero, Kaoru thinks absently.  

“I mean, you’ll just fall on your ass into the water a whole bunch of times if you try, but if you wanna embarrass yourself on a surfboard, I guess I can arrange that,” Kaoru plasters a grin on his face that becomes markedly more real when Chiaki’s eyes light up and he throws his arms around Kaoru to lift him up again.  

“We’ll have so much fun!  Thank you!” he lets Kaoru drop and stands back, clearing his throat.  “Now, I think I promised you a burger!”

“You did,” Kaoru agrees, moving to walk again but pausing when Chiaki holds out a hand toward him.  

He’s looking the other way, brow furrowed in concentration, and Kaoru decides that there’s really no  _ harm  _ in it.  

His fingers fit naturally between Chiaki’s; the other boy’s hand is warm and a little rough but it feels  _ nice.   _

“Right, then!” Chiaki acts as if nothing had happened, as if Kaoru hadn’t just taken a  _ huge  _ step in beginning to disprove that whole...110% straight thing...but it’s better this way.  

Kaoru knows he won’t say anything, and that he’ll only go as slow or fast as Kaoru’s comfortable with, and that makes everything much easier to reconcile.  

Chiaki’s _Chiaki_ , after all, and if Kaoru thinks of him that way...then maybe this doesn’t have to be so scary.  

If he’s got a hero to protect him, everything will turn out fine, he reasons, and for right now? 

That’s all he needs.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to find me on twitter, I'm at [_mikarashis](https://twitter.com/_mikarashis) and I'm pretty much always talking about idols so feel free to stop and say hi!


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